Hi, there ! Renxkyoko Iglesias here ! !
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I can say Venice is a hard act to follow. Venice is like a Hollywwod set, a movie backdrop pre- created in the 10th century. The place is simply amazing, a sight to behold. The downside though of going to a beautiful place like Venice is that there are million others that share the same sentiment. And that means, we walked shoulder to shoulder, elbow to elbow with thousand other tourists on the narrow streets of Venice……. which made me just a tad uncomfortable, by the way. Well, in my neck of the woods, there are literally no pedestrians walking on the streets.
As I said on my previous post, I couldn’t recall the timeline. Did we go first to Venice, or to Lugano and Verona. Then I realized Lugano is in Switzerland, an Italian -speaking city in Switzerland that borders Italy . I’m sure now that Verona was the first Italian city that we visited after Switzerland. Well, I don’t think it matters which came first. So, anyway, we stopped by Lugano for a few hours, took a stroll along the beautiful lakeside promenade, then crossed into Italy and drove to Verona, medieval setting of William Shakespeare’s ” Romeo and Juliet, “, The Taming of the Shrew, and The Two Gentlemen of Verona.
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. That is Lake Lugano. Yep, the scenery did look like we were still in Switzerland.
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As always, it’s all about me. tee hee Oh my gosh…. the classic Ren pose. * palmface*
.I didn’t buy burger at McDonald’s…… had a cup of iced tea so I could use the WC. The iced tea was in a champagne glass ! !
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.We stayed just 3 hours in Lugano. I really don’t know what Lugano is famous for, but then almost all of these places in Switzerland and Italy , large and small, are somehow famous for something. Although here in Lugano, it seemed we were the only tourists around.
We left Lugano , Switzerland for Verano, Italy. As I mentioned above, Verano is the medieval setting of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Two Gentlemen of Verona, and Taming of the Shrew. Shakespeare must have been impressed by Verona, and I’m not surprised. It has both ancient and medieval atmosphere, and for some reason, I prefer Verona over Venice. Maybe Venice is too touristy ? Shops all over and thousands of people walking around…. in other words, too commercialized. That’s what happened at Boracay Island in the Philippines. It’s listed as one of the best beach in the world. Mom saw it when it was pristine and unexplored. My own family even have a piece of property there. Our great grandma used to own the whole island, but then her children started selling off the property to big cor[orate hotels and businessmen. Now, my Mom rues the day when relatives got too greedy. It is still beautiful, but too commercialized. My parents had to fence off our property when a big named hotel conglomerate started building a hotel, ( Hyatt ), literally our backyard neighbor. They might just encroach on our property intentionally, then say “Woops” and pressure us to sell our property , then we’d be left with nothing. I can see that happening. But I digress.
Above photo is the private beach at Boracay Island, Philippines….. At least there’s still a part of the island that has not been sold off….
.That arch that you see at the end of the street is Porta Borsari, an ancient remnant Roman structure and is now the entrance to the medieval market square Piazza delle Erbe.
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.An ancient Roman bathtub, discovered right in the middle of the road.
.The market square, Piazza delle Erbe
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.That’s Juliet’s designated balcony. Romeo’s house is at # 4, a few houses down the road, and there’s a family currently living there. We do know they’re fictional characters, don’t we ? The photo below is the statue of Juliet. There’s a legend that if you rub her breast, you’ll get lucky in love. So, I jumped up to the statue and rubbed her boobsie and wished I’d soon meet my Fated One and I wouldn’t turn into an old maiden. ( ^___^ )
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.That’s the wall of the entrance to Juliet’s courtyard. I wrote something there too. You know, I noticed another thing in Europe… graffiti is all over, like you won’t believe it. ha ha ha…. I also wrote my name somewhere in Rome and Madrid. ” Ren was here, 7/11/2012 * hearts* Grafitti writing is, I guess, cultural in Italy. Even the ancient Romans did it… Liunidus was here xx1x
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.I don’t know what’s with Italy and masks. It reminds me of some period movies where the characters wear elaborate gowns and masks and wigs. Mom bought one too. I don’t really like stuff like this. I find them scary and creepy. Nor do I like clowns and dolls. ( although I did have a collection of Barbie dolls and tons of Barbie dresses and outfits and I remember I could play the whole day alone dressing the dolls up )
.Creepy, huh. Mom can’t decide whether to hang and display this somewhere or just keep it in the attic. …. the attic, Mom.
.The statue above is that of Dante Aleghieri, author of a great book Divine Comedy . He called Verona home, although he was born in Florence. He’s also the father of the Italian language. Why father of the Italian language. ? Well, writers then used Latin, instead of the language of the common people in Italy. Divine Comedy was the first great book written in Italian . Latin was the lingua franca of the Roman citizens, but the rest of the country was Italian. Maybe that’s the reason why Latin became a dead language. I wonder how different Italian is from Latin. It’s like Mandarin, the language of the Chinese royalty. In China, there are so many dialects, and believe it or not, even if they sound similar, they are actually different. My Mom had a Chinese friend who spoke Cantonese only , and couldn’t understand Mandarin. Mandarin didn’t die because the study of this language became mandatory in China. By the way, this area of Verona is also on the list of Living World Heritage. That means, building of modern structure is not allowed. So, what we saw here was exactly what the Veronese saw hundreds of years ago. That’s really cool.
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.There’s a corpse there.
.There are 2 dead ones here too
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.Above is the Roman Arena. It is still functional… well, not for people to be eaten by lions,, but for operas and such.
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.The photo below is what they call The Wall. It’s a remnant of an ancient Roman walled city. Eh. I made that up. I’m sure that’s like a fort to protect the inhabitants from invaders.
.The history of Italy is really rich. We saw beautiful , well-preserved medieval buildings and I can tell they were more beautiful back then. But , to be honest, I don’t think I ‘d want to live during medieval times. One word…… hygiene. What did they use to brush their teeth? I’m sure majority of them had rotten teeth. And I’m sure too they suffered so much from toothache. Ugh. Did they use soap? How often did they take a bath? In the morning, where did they go for their morning rituals? What did they use to clean up their butts? Paper? I highly doubt they had that much paper to use. O_O ” And for women with their monthlies……@__@ ” I wonder what they used. I read they didn’t wear underwears. ( I don’t want to think about that. ) And childbirth……. Women were just ripped apart giving birth. Ugh ! It’s unbelievable what people had to go through for things we now take for granted. I guess I’m over-thinking.
This is all for now. ROME is next. Good day to all and PEACE.
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Am a Molecular Microbiology student, love to read books, and I play the violin. 
dreamsending
renxkyoko
renxkyoko's space 
Posted by globaldruginfo on September 12, 2012 at 11:16 am
Amazing photos and city!!! It’s an ancient world !!!
Posted by renxkyoko on September 15, 2012 at 5:54 am
Indeed ! Thanks, globaldruginfo !
Posted by globaldruginfo on September 17, 2012 at 6:26 am
Thanks too 🙂
Posted by myindividualinsights on September 12, 2012 at 11:21 am
Awwww….! Awesome snaps as well as description. You looks so gorgeous in those snaps, wise lady. 😀 🙂
Rahul
Posted by renxkyoko on September 15, 2012 at 5:56 am
Awwww ! Thanks, myindividualinsights ! Loving the gorgeous thingy, he he !
Posted by myindividualinsights on September 15, 2012 at 6:06 am
Haha! You are welcome, wise lady. 🙂
Rahul
Posted by farah on September 12, 2012 at 12:48 pm
Pretty pictures! I agree those masks are creepy… They don’t have to make it like that right? I mean why didn’t they make smiling face masks? And there’s something with the shape of the eyes.
Posted by renxkyoko on September 15, 2012 at 6:05 am
Those masks are really creepy ! I wasn’t with my mother when she bought that. And to think we had to hand carry that all the way from Europe to the US, being careful not to squish it, and then now, we don’t know where to put that, as souvenir. Useless stuff.
Posted by eatwithfatjoe on September 12, 2012 at 2:40 pm
Lovely woman in a beautiful city…..
Posted by renxkyoko on September 15, 2012 at 6:16 am
Thanks, good sir ! ! By the way, I’m going to post about Euro food, well, at least the ones we’ve eaten. I tell you, you wouldn’t like it ! ! OMG ! I dreamt of KFC and thick burgers and backribs. There’s nothing of that kind of food there. I’m not exagerrating .The best dish we’d eaten there was roast chicken that tasted like the roast chicken we buy at supermarkets here… tasted like COSTCO roast chicken… and that was the most savory we’ve eaten !
Posted by eatwithfatjoe on September 17, 2012 at 12:25 pm
We were in London and Scotland a few years ago…..the Pub food in London was excelent and the variety of foods in Scotland were wonderful….
Blood Sausage and Hagis would not be tops on my menu, however…..but I did try both….
Posted by renxkyoko on September 17, 2012 at 5:25 pm
yes, I did like the food in London, and I had blood saisage for breakfast. The blood food is not new to me. One of my favorite dish is ” blood ” soup, believe it or not… ( a Philippine dish ) though I did not like the sausage. It tasted like rust, as it should be. ha ha ha. After all, blood is mostly iron.
Oh, good, you liked the food there. Except that I ‘ve been reading your food journey, and the food all look so savory and yummy I can almost taste it. Unfortunately, I didn’t have that kind of food in Europe. After a week or two, we and the other Americans in the tour were already all wishing for KFC and McDonalds.
Posted by Virander Sirohi on September 12, 2012 at 4:21 pm
Nice… So you are roaming around the world… hmmm… enjoy… oh yeah… i stopped writing on Life Says All… was busy for a long time… hopefully after seeing your post back to back… i might give one more chance 🙂 anyways… enjoy… 🙂
Posted by renxkyoko on September 15, 2012 at 6:17 am
Awww ! Really? Come back then and write again, please.
Cheers !
Posted by ~REBECCA DAWN~ on September 12, 2012 at 5:45 pm
Oh man they served iced tea in champagne glasses? get out! I can’t stand those kind of masks either. I get so freaked out. However I would loved to go to the Arena! Or see Romeo and Julie’s house that would be so cool. wow, I love your pictures. :):):)
Posted by renxkyoko on September 15, 2012 at 6:20 am
They did, rebecca ! But…. it was 2.75 Euro, and you know how much iced tea was in champagne glass? One gulp ! ! !
Posted by ~REBECCA DAWN~ on September 21, 2012 at 12:33 am
one gulp? well that is a rip off! but it would be so fancy! ha ha ha! i love it
Posted by nepaliaustralian on September 12, 2012 at 9:34 pm
Great photos 🙂
Posted by renxkyoko on September 15, 2012 at 6:20 am
Thanks, nepaliaustralian ! !
Posted by drewpan on September 13, 2012 at 2:24 am
Hahaha nice photos! I can’t imagine being that statue of Juliet. I mean, here you are, eternal symbol of tragic love, and people are constantly rubbing your boob for the hope of true love.
Posted by renxkyoko on September 15, 2012 at 6:27 am
He he he…. I hope our tour guide told the truth, that there was indeed a legend. Coz, there were people there who looked at me like, ” lady, what are you doing? ” He he
Posted by Drew on September 15, 2012 at 8:41 am
Hahah you got Swiss-punk’d!
Posted by renxkyoko on September 16, 2012 at 1:04 am
No matter…. ha haha….. When I was in Rome, there were so many naked statues….. * cough *
Posted by simpleek on September 13, 2012 at 11:45 am
Looks like your tour path is similar to what I did. 🙂 I didn’t get to rub Juliet’s boob for good luck as there were too many people around her. I loved the love notes on the wall next to Juliet’s balcony. I thought it was really romantic!
To get off topic, I love Boracay! Such a beautiful beach. Actually, when I was much younger I remember when the beaches there hadn’t become overcommercialized yet. It was starting, but there was still plenty of virgin beaches left. The last time I went there, which was several years ago, my sister and I were shocked by how much touristy it got. And crowded. It’s nice to have the nicer hotels and more food options, but the beaches got destroyed because of all the development in a sense.
Posted by renxkyoko on September 15, 2012 at 6:32 am
Well, we both had COSMOS Tours., so, yeah, same itinerary. So, you were also told about the legend? ha ha ha
We’re going to build a duplex on our Boracay property soon. We already have the building plans… and we;ll have that rented out to tourists .
Mom really hates the overcommercialization of the island. Our area is still ” virgin” and pristine. No commercial establishments.
Posted by TWWK on September 13, 2012 at 1:41 pm
More wonderful pictures – thanks for sharing!
Posted by renxkyoko on September 15, 2012 at 6:33 am
Thanks for visiting too, TWWK ! I hope you don’t get bored !
Posted by TWWK on September 16, 2012 at 2:59 am
With your site? No way – I’m definitely enjoying seeing the pictures. I spent 3 years in Germany when I was very young, but haven’t been back since, so all your pictures bring a sense of nostalgia to me.
Posted by renxkyoko on September 19, 2012 at 4:20 pm
I’m just beginning to feel nostalgic now. I wish we could have stayed longer .
Posted by Mooselicker on September 13, 2012 at 8:38 pm
Do they call a quarter pounder with cheese at the Venice McDonalds a “royale with cheese?” Just curious.
Who starts a legend about rubbing a statue’s breasts? Me in a past life probably.
Posted by renxkyoko on September 15, 2012 at 6:42 am
Ha ha ! That was according to our tour guide, But I did wonder why some of the people there looked at me funny when i had my photo taken, rubbing her boobsie.
Moose, I didn’t get the royale with cheese….. @___@
Posted by efratadenny on September 14, 2012 at 5:57 am
Again, nice pictures and story post. I like your Boracay picture 🙂
That maiden statue makes me curious. Do you feel any love changes after you rub its boobs?
Posted by renxkyoko on September 15, 2012 at 6:44 am
ha ha ha ! No change ! I’d find more luck on eDate , methinks .
Posted by efratadenny on September 15, 2012 at 10:07 am
How do you rub eDate boobs? ha ha ha
Posted by renxkyoko on September 16, 2012 at 1:08 am
He he,,, I have to meet the date in person…. and rub man boobs. * cough*.. I don’t know where the conversation is going from here, he he he
Posted by efratadenny on September 16, 2012 at 2:21 am
I think it is going to be on youtube 😉 it is an eDate… ha ha
Posted by sa saliw ng awit on September 15, 2012 at 11:24 am
hello, Ren… thanks for sharing your adventures in Verona and Lugano. haha, lots of pics in different squares. model? 😉 btw, cool naman ang poses mo, dear. parang di ka pagod sa kalalakad, haha… anyway, maganda nga ang green dress mo. ^^
hey, i was in boracay last weekend. your great grandma used to own the whole island? holy cow! may-ari kayo ng Pilipinas, shaks… hmnn, sa may tabi pala kayo ng Hyatt… maganda pa rin naman ang beach, kapatid. postcard perfect pa rin, ahaha. ^^ pagbabalik pala kami ro’n, kokontak me sa ‘yo, haha. ^^
kakatuwa ang thoughts mo sa dulo. pag hindi berserk ang mga naiisip mo, macabre, haha. joke lang, kapatid… ikaw naman, siyempre, medieval people had their own ways of living and coping. hindi nga siguro hygienic, haha, pero times nila yowwn…^^
Verona must be lovely. from the description sa plays ni Shakespeare at sa Italian stories na nababasa ko – parang… hope you are doing well, sister. cheers 😉
Posted by renxkyoko on September 16, 2012 at 1:14 am
Ganda talaga ng green dress, no? Do I look fat?
Yep, she did ! Now you know, my family’s from there ! ! O.O
Ah, sige…. pero you contact me when our duplex is done… it’s for rent ! ! Business to.
Pag naisip ko yon ginagawa nila… pano ba yon? I read something about hygiene then. Yung historical account of historians then……. one wrote that when one woman took off her dress, the guy almost fainted from the smell. Eeeeeewwwww !
Posted by sa saliw ng awit on September 16, 2012 at 3:07 am
no, hindi ka fat, kapatid… oo, i’ll contact you pag marami kami para afford namin ang duplex, haha. sana hindi pang-class A ang price, hehe. pang-station 2 lang ang budget ng lola mo, whehe. ^^
ah, yes, Europeans had that problem before, until early 21st century yata. di nga ba kaya nagka- plague noong medieval times? hindi sila mahihilig raw maligo noon – not that frequent – it’s damn cold hehe… but my realatives who are staying there says that it’s different now, especially among the young. ayon… anyway it’s different with us na nasa tropics, we take a bath everyday or several times pa, hehehe. hi, Ren… 😉
Posted by renxkyoko on September 19, 2012 at 5:39 pm
I had read so much about the daily lives of the people back then… I don’t know, I ‘ve always found it more interesting… lol.
Masiado kaming magastos this year. Sabe ng parents ko, yung trip namin cut a big chunk off the money intented for the buliding of the duplex/ kaya baka next year ulit. The plan was this year, but it has to be postponed.
Posted by Sonya Derieh on September 16, 2012 at 3:52 pm
Nature is gorgeous!
Posted by renxkyoko on September 19, 2012 at 4:43 pm
yes, it is ! ! But not only in Europe… it’s right there at your backyard !
Cheers !
Posted by countingducks on September 16, 2012 at 5:18 pm
I’m loving this trip and the photographs you have taken. I remember sleeping in a youth hostel in Venice
Posted by renxkyoko on September 19, 2012 at 4:45 pm
Even if it was a youth hostel, It must have been quite expensive to stay right there in Venice proper.
Posted by countingducks on September 19, 2012 at 4:47 pm
I think it was only one night and I honestly can’t remember, but I do remember the room was pretty crowded so it was not over luxurious LOL
Posted by renxkyoko on September 19, 2012 at 10:18 pm
I can sleep anywhere, even a couch is fine, as long as there’s a toilet I can use. ha ha
Posted by onwindydays on September 16, 2012 at 8:00 pm
So jealous! Italy looks amazing this time of year! Ah, anyways thanks for always stopping by 🙂
Posted by renxkyoko on September 19, 2012 at 4:51 pm
The time of the year was summer, aaaargh ! Invasion of the tourists ! ! No wonder people are sayng to visit during off-season !
Just the same, Europe is amazing ! !
Posted by globaldruginfo on September 17, 2012 at 6:32 am
Both Venice and Boracay are my favorite places. Venice is also called as Romantic City and I love boracay for it’s clean white sand beaches 🙂
Posted by renxkyoko on September 19, 2012 at 10:19 pm
Oh, you’ve been to Boracay? is it very touristy?
Posted by globaldruginfo on September 20, 2012 at 3:33 am
I haven’t been…But i have been to Camiguin Island, it’s calm and quite and best place to spend your vacation.
Posted by 25pesocupnoodles on September 19, 2012 at 8:51 am
an award for you…
http://25pesocupnoodles.wordpress.com/2012/09/19/isang-bagsakan-award-one-hit-award/
Posted by renxkyoko on September 19, 2012 at 4:53 pm
Whoa ! Thank you, thank you ! * bow *
I’m going to acknowldge everyone who has nominated me on one post, right after this trip . I feel so neglectful already ! ! It’s coming ! ! !
Posted by Punta Fuego Weekend | Nobody Land on September 19, 2012 at 9:23 am
[…] It’s not as glamorous as Ren’s travels (read it here) but it’s a welcome change to my usual routine: work, gym, sleep, work at home. I know, […]
Posted by renxkyoko on September 19, 2012 at 4:57 pm
I’m sure it’s as spectacular as anywhere where one can relax …. I’m taking a second look at our backyard with all these trees and flower plants, and hummingbird feeding on the feeder, and the water fountain, etc…..
Posted by 35andupcynicismonhold on September 21, 2012 at 9:47 pm
hello, Ren… the European architecture is still and always something to gawk at, haha. excellent that you took many pics of them, old buildings…
hope the coming weekend will be fun and restful. cheers 😉
Posted by Smaktakula on September 25, 2012 at 5:53 am
I’m with you regarding the hygiene of the middle ages. Whenever I think of that time period I think of stink and disease. Ah, Italy and it’s Old World charm.
Posted by renxkyoko on September 26, 2012 at 11:52 am
Italy has character. It’s one country I want to go back to, again and again. It’s an amzing country.
Aaaargh ! The hygiene ! I know…….. I can’t help thinking of that.
Posted by potsquared on September 26, 2012 at 1:11 pm
wow!! simply wow!! i only have one question.. why are you holding the statues right bust? just curious…
Posted by renxkyoko on September 27, 2012 at 5:25 am
there’s a legend that our tour director told us… if you rub the breast of Juliet’s breast, you’ll get lucky in love. ^___^”
Posted by potsquared on September 27, 2012 at 8:28 am
Posted by LAND OF FUN on September 28, 2012 at 3:42 am
Gorgeous Beauty on the way to fascinate the world . I love the post !
Posted by renxkyoko on October 2, 2012 at 11:03 pm
Thank you, Land of fun !
Posted by Zo on October 1, 2012 at 11:17 pm
Wow…these are gorgeous/amazing. I went to Rome about 6 years ago and this is a great trip down memory lane.
Posted by renxkyoko on October 2, 2012 at 11:05 pm
yes, Zo. Italy is so beautiful… such rich history !
Posted by jalal michael sabbagh on October 2, 2012 at 10:17 pm
Wonderful post.fantastic pictures of the city of renaissance .l visited Rome couple years ago,but l think your picture tells l didn’t see few places in Rome.Thanks for the trip.Best wishes.jalal
Posted by renxkyoko on October 2, 2012 at 11:08 pm
LOL Well, the places here aren’t in Rome. Lugano actually is in Switzerland, but Verona is indeed in Italy, and it’s medieval and renaissance combined.
Posted by Cardinal Guzman on October 5, 2012 at 1:31 pm
Looks like a great trip!
Posted by renxkyoko on January 29, 2013 at 8:03 pm
Oh, my gosh…. my response is soooo late. Sorry, Cardinal Guzman. I am just know trying to keep up with my blogs… then I saw this…
Anyway… indeed it was a great trip. Thanks for visiting, and CHEERS !
Posted by viv on October 10, 2012 at 7:04 pm
Wow! Going through the pictures was like watching an actual movie coz it tells the story! Beautiful place.
Posted by renxkyoko on January 29, 2013 at 8:05 pm
Thanks, VIv !!!!!
And I hope you continue updating your blog, coz I like it very much. I haven’t been getting any update on my email folder.
Posted by viv on February 7, 2013 at 7:28 am
hahaha! haven’t blogged for a while, I’ll update soon 🙂
Posted by renxkyoko on February 7, 2013 at 8:49 am
I know ! I’m not getting any update from you on my email folder. ! ! Anyway, I’m glad you’re back here . Cheers !
Posted by LAND OF FUN on October 29, 2012 at 7:23 pm
I read it again and fascinated more than before …Can you gift me some of your photos to be posted on my blog? Your cute pics would make the blog more shining with your true friendship … 😀 ,,, Be Happy Always !
Posted by renxkyoko on October 29, 2012 at 8:11 pm
Sure, Land of Fun ! ! Hmmm, I wonder what you’re gonna choose.
Posted by LAND OF FUN on October 30, 2012 at 6:38 pm
Thanks a lot dear friend !
Posted by pseudomonaz on January 29, 2013 at 7:18 pm
Ah the romantic in me is happy to see the land of Romeo and Juliet. I loved that picture of the wall and the Juliet’s balcony. I had seen that in some movie.I don’t remember the name. Even i find those masks creepy. They always remind me of those dangerous mythological devils.
Posted by renxkyoko on January 29, 2013 at 8:08 pm
The mask reminds me of some “historical” movies ( that I’m not really fond of ) and these masks are used at some grand ” balls” … whatever… they are creepy. these masks are sold everywhere.
Posted by Kavita Joshi on April 29, 2013 at 1:34 pm
so many beautiful pics..thanks a lot for sharing